BuyIt Bradley
by Ashley Murphy

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bernadette Douglas presented the Bradley County Commission with a new incentive the Chamber of Commerce is offering in order to keep money flowing through Bradley County and Cleveland.

The new incentive is a gift card. Much like the CBL Malls gift card that Hamilton Place in Chattanooga offers, BuyIt Bradley cards can only be spent at local businesses around town. That list of businesses is expected to grow as the BuyIt card becomes wider known. Douglas said she hopes to see at least 75 participating businesses by the end of the year.

The BuyIt Bradley card is reloadable and Douglas hopes to see the card given as gifts, rewards and promotions withing homes and other businesses, particularly in the schools for teachers. To learn more about the BuyIt Bradley Giftcard Program, simply visit their website at www.buyitbradley.com.

The commission had a special guest with them during Monday afternoon's meeting; Haley Jones, a 5th grader at Black Fox Elementary School was relieving Mayor Davis of his duties and acted as Mayor for a Day. Jones stated she had no agenda items for consideration, but she did recommend for the commission to give all county employees an extra day off with pay. We will see if the commission will consider her recommendation at next week's voting session.

Commissioner Howard Thompson addressed issues were brought to his attention by constituents regarding the increased traffic on Stuart Road since the opening of First Baptist.

According to others, the traffic isn't a big concern, as the church is paying officers at a rate of $5 an hour to help direct traffic before and after church sessions. While this does not include the use of vehicles or fuel, many commissioners believe that this is a fair deal since the church is paying out of pocket for the officers' time.

The Bradley County Commission will meet again on Monday, October 18th at 10 a.m. in the Bradley County Courthouse.

The Commission and the Cleveland City Council will have a joint session on Wednesday, October 13th at noon at the Mountain View Inn.